The invention relates to a system and method for repelling birds from landing, roosting and/or nesting on surfaces of outdoor structures or from entering into openings in outdoors structures.
It is well known that birds often roost, build nest and/or congregate on window ledges, fences, bell towers, gutters, roof tops, air conditioner units, light poles and a variety of other outdoor structures. Such congregations of birds can be a nuisance to property owners as well as to the general public. For example, in urban settings, large numbers of pigeons tend to inhabit any structure which offers some shelter and an opening that provides a means of egress for the birds. Such open structures can become a repository for large quantities of bird droppings. Bird droppings often become unsightly, malodorous and unsanitary and, therefore, require frequent cleaning of the area of accumulation.
In the past, there have been several attempts to devise a system to solve the problem of bird nuisance landing, nesting and roosting. One example of such a system is U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,160, issued to Heron, which discloses a retractable bird deterring device. The deterring device included holding mechanisms having a base plate attached to the building and pivotally mounted arms for securing wire between the wire holding mechanisms. The arms are selectively pivotable to an operational protracted position in which the arms and wire lie above the surface of the building and to a non-operational retractable position in which the arms and wire lie below the surface of the building structure.
Another attempt to solve the problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,088 issue to Way which discloses a device for deterring birds from roosting or nesting on building ledges and the like. The device comprises opposing brackets mounted on the ledge with one or more wires linking the opposing faces of the brackets and positioned so that when the device is in its assembled position the wires obstruct the roosting or nesting activities of the bird. One of the brackets has one or more wire retracting means enclosed within it to which the wires are mounted so that the length and tension on the wires are adjusted, either separately or collectively.
The previous attempts to provide a barrier system for repelling birds have been found to suffer from a number of drawbacks. For example, those systems include a number of moving parts which render them more expensive to manufacture, install and maintain than is desirable. Further, due to their size and complexity, these system are readily visible when installed on a structure and therefore may detract from its visual aesthetics. Moreover, such prior systems are designed for use on relatively long, narrow window ledges and are thus not suitable to protect structure openings or structure surfaces of a variety of shapes and sizes. For instance, it is believed that those systems would not be suitable for protecting the following: gutters, light poles, openings in bell towers, or the surface of a structure having substantial width. Accordingly, there is a need for a bird repellant system that is inexpensive to manufacture, install, and maintain; that can be camouflaged to blend into its surroundings; and that is flexible enough to provide a barrier for structure surfaces and openings having a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
The present invention includes a novel line barrier system for repelling a bird from a desired portion of a structure which includes, a plurality of modular supports having a base for mounting to the structure, with the supports having at least one projecting member extending in a fixed position from said base; a fastener for mounting said plurality of modular supports to the structure; and, at least one line fixedly attached to said projecting member on more than one of said plurality of modular supports to provide a line barrier between the bird and the structure. The modular nature of the supports provides for simple and inexpensive manufacture, installation, and maintenance of the system of the present invention. It also provides the system of the invention with a great deal of flexibility in configuring the line barrier to protect a wide variety of shapes and sizes of structure surfaces and structure openings. Further, the simple design of the system having modular supports with fixed projections and fixedly attached lines to more than one of the modular supports helps reduce the expense of manufacture, installation and maintenance of the system.
In one embodiment of the invention, a novel modular support for securing line of a line barrier system is provided having a base which is adapted to be fixedly secured to a structure. The base has at least one projecting member extending at a fixed angle from the top surface of the base. At least one of the projecting members has at least one line receiving member for fixedly receiving at least one line of the line barrier. Preferably, the base of the modular support is adapted to be secured to the structure by the provision of an aperture through the base which is sized to receive a fastener. Optionally, the base of the modular support may be adapted to be secured to the structure by providing a planar lower surface having a surface material which will readily bond to an adhesive chosen for its ability to bond with both the surface material of the support and the surface material of the structure.
In another embodiment of the invention, a novel method of installing a line barrier system for repelling birds from a desired portion of a structure is provided. The method includes the following steps: (a) determining the orientation and number of lines required to create a line barrier sufficient to repel birds from a desired portion of a structure; (b) determining the number and location of modular supports required to support the determined orientation and number of lines; (c) securing the determined number of modular supports in the determined locations to the surface of the structure to support the determined orientation and number of lines; and (d) attaching the determined number of lines in the determined orientation to the determined number of modular supports to create a line barrier system sufficient to repel birds from a desired portion of the structure. In the system of the invention, the number of lines and their orientation is to a large extent determined by the installer based on the size and geometry of the desired portion of the structure to be protected and the size of the bird to be repelled. In this regard, the gaps between the lines of the barrier will be smaller for barriers designed to repel smaller birds, and can be larger, if the barrier is intended to repel only larger birds, such as pigeons or seagulls. Ideally, the gaps would be no smaller than the average size of the bird to be repelled, but may be larger if the undesirable bird species is effectively repelled with a line barrier having larger gaps. When relatively large sized areas or structure openings are to be protected from birds, it is likely that more complex line barriers having larger numbers of line and more complex interactions will need to be created.
In another preferred embodiment, a novel system and method of installing a line barrier to repel birds from a portion of a structure having a substantial width relative to the length of the modular base is provided. In this preferred system and method, it is determined that at least one line of the barrier should be oriented along the periphery of at least a portion of the structure to be protected from birds and that at least three modular supports spaced apart in a non-linear arrangement at locations along the periphery are necessary to support the line barrier. For purposes of this application, a non-linear arrangement means that, when at least three supports are arranged within the desired portion of the structure to be protected, a line extending between two adjacent supports will not intersect the third support. The determined number of supports are then secured in the determined locations and the determined number and orientation of the lines are secured to the support so that a line barrier is created. Optionally, it may be determined that at least one line should be oriented to intersect the portion of the structure to be protected. In which case, at least one line is secured to at least two of the modular supports positioned opposite each other across the periphery of the portion of the structure to be protected.
In another preferred embodiment of the system and method of the invention, a novel system and method of installing a line barrier to repel birds from a portion of a structure having substantial width relative to the length of the modular base is provided. It may be determined that the line barrier system should include at least three modular supports spaced apart in a non-linear arrangement with one support positioned in the interior of the portion of the structure from which birds are to be repelled. It is further determined that at least one line should be fixedly attached on one end to at least one projecting member on the support located within the interior of the portion of the structure to be protected and fixedly attached on the other end to at least one other modular support. The determined number of supports are then secured in the determined locations and the determined number and orientation of the lines are secured so that they create a line barrier. In some cases, it will be determined that a plurality of lines oriented to intersect the desired portion of the structure to be protected are required and additional lines running between additional supports either within the interior of the portion of the structure to be protected or positioned opposite each other across the portion of the structure to be protected may be provided. Optionally, it may be determined that at least one line should be oriented along the periphery of the portion of the structure to be protected and be secured to at least two modular supports positioned along the periphery of the portion of the structure to be protected.
In another preferred embodiment of the system of the invention, the projecting member of the modular support is a pair of posts extending substantially perpendicularly from the base of the support and having at least one ring extending from said projecting member for fixedly attaching said at least one line. The ring is adapted to secure the line preferably by tying around the ring and may optionally be secured with a bit of adhesive. The base of the modular support preferably has at least one aperture adapted to receive at least one fastener.
In another embodiment of the invention, a kit is provided which preferably includes a plurality of modular supports for securing a line barrier, a plurality of fasteners, and at least one line which may be cut to the desired length(s). The kit may optionally include an adhesive for use in securing the modular supports to a structure as an alternative to use of a fastener. The kit may also optionally include an adhesive which assists in binding the line after it is tied to one of the support means.